Transparency needed from Anglo-American on Woodsmith Project

It’s paramount that Anglo American communicates clearly with affected employees and stakeholders. The global mining giant has a duty to be transparent at such a distressing time for the community.

Anglo American confirmed that the mine had closed and that it had been shut down for safety reasons with work due to restart on Monday.

While a lot of people will be sceptical about the excuse given, it’s important to remember the size, scope and complexity of the project. Mining can be a dangerous business and given the uncertainty around the workforce, it is understandable that Anglo American should put safety first.

That said, this was and remains one of the most important economic projects in this part of the world. Job losses will have a seismic impact on the community in and around Whitby. Not only is this going to impact those at the mine but also the wider supply chain.

Woodsmith was billed as a transformational project. But that transformation has been littered with false starts and broken promises.

Anglo American finds itself in an invidious position but it now needs to reassure stakeholders.

The latest news also undermines Government assertions that the economy is working for this region. It creates another headache for Tories defending their seats in the region.

There has been a lot of talk from politicians about encouraging private investment. And with high capital costs associated with this project, some will argue that there is a need for government support to make it viable. But a lack of commitment is only going to scare off any government support.